Boustany tweaks Landry with pay dock bill

GOP Rep. Charles Boustany (La.) wants to dock pay for members of Congress who miss votes – which would mean a smaller paycheck for his Republican rival in their incumbent vs. incumbent clash.

Boustany, who is battling tea party Rep. Jeff Landry for a redrawn district in southern Louisiana, said the bill is about ensuring members do the job they’re paid to do.

But it’s also a subtle poke at Landry, who has missed 7 percent of all votes since he came to D.C. in 2011, according to voting records complied by GovTrack.us. Boustany has missed 3 percent of votes in his eight years in Congress — still more than the 2.4 percent average. This year, the gap is far wider: Landry, who trails Boustany by $1 million in campaign cash, has missed 50 votes to Boustany’s four.

Boustany said some of his colleagues “habitually miss important votes … oftentimes to attend fundraising events and campaign events.” He didn't ’t call out Landry by name but his opponent was clearly on Boustany's mind.

“I am honored to be trusted with responsibility to my constituents and I look forward to serving the people of south Louisiana into the future,” Boustany said at a news conference Friday to promote the bill, which was introduced a few weeks ago.

Landry says it’s not about how many votes a member casts – it’s how he votes.

“In the 18 months that I’ve been here, I’ve never found one time when we have lacked enough members to pass a piece of legislation,” he told POLITICO. “What we’ve lacked up here is courage, and especially courage in people like Charles who refuse to stand up and say no to raising the debt ceiling without real reform. And while he goes out there and plays games with the American people, we’re seriously having to clean up his sequestering mess after he voted to raise the debt ceiling.”

“We can send anyone up. I can get my seven-year-old up here and teach him how to press a button,” Landry said.

Boustany’s office said the bill is not aimed at any particular lawmaker, but Landry disagrees.